Eastman Camera Club Meeting - April 21

The next monthly meeting of the Eastman Camera Club is Thursday, April 21 at 6:30 PM.  We will be in Room 221, of the Eastman Employee Center on Wilcox Drive in Kingsport.   Topics for this month are

Using the Nik Photo Editing Tools
Techniques for Removing Objects From a Photo

Google bought the Nik software company a couple of years ago and since then the price has been steadily going down.  Recently Google made the entire suite of Nik software available for FREE.   We will run through the Nik suite of tools and talk about how they can complement photo editing tools you already have.

People have asked how to remove unwanted objects from a photo.  We'll talk about a few tools and techniques to do that.

Calibrating a Lens/Camera

Last minute additions!   We will have a demonstration on how to calibrate a lens.

Monthly photo challenge returns!

We will be restarting the monthly photo challenge.  Each month members are given a topic and asked to go out a make photos according to the monthly topic.   We then share those photos in the monthly meeting.  We will discuss what we like about each photo and what might make it better. The objective is to force us to try new things and learn from each other.

Shooting Stars

The topic for the April meeting is wildflowers.   Those that went on the Smokies wildflower trip have a good collection.  There are still many opportunities.

Here are the rules/steps

1. Pick out your favorite THREE photos for the topic.
2. Save those a JPEG format that is 1 MB or smaller.  You can lower the resolution (1280 pixels on longest side), change the JPEG quality setting to less than the maximum, or both.  
3. Email those photos to rcsiggins@gmail.com   If you want your photos to be anonymous let me know and we won't reveal who they belong to.  

Please try to get those entries in by April 19.

Here are the photo challenge topics for the next several months

April - Wildflowers
May - Speed
June - Portraits (people or pets)
July -Color contrast (see http://digital-photography-school.com/colour-contrast-making-the-most-of-orange-and-blue/ )
August - Landscapes

Nik Collection of Photo Editing Tools Is Now FREE

At one time, Nik software was one of the premier photo editing packages on the market.   Lately development on the Nik suite has slowed up.   The writing was on the wall -- Google was investing in the mobile and web apps and not the Nik suite.
I bought a copy three or four years ago for a couple hundred dollars and have used it with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop ever since.   Then, a couple years ago Google bought the company to get the mobile app Snapseed.  

Today, Google announced that the Nik suite of software is now free to all.  You can download in here.

Here is a list of all the tools in the suite:

• Analog Efex Pro - converts photos to the look of classic cameras, films, and lenses.
• Color Efex Pro -  a comprehensive set of filters for color correction, retouching, and creative effects.
• Silver Efex Pro - black-and-white conversion with darkroom-inspired controls.
• Viveza - selectively adjust the color and tonality of your images without complicated masks or selections.
• HDR Efex Pro - powerful HDR conversion tools
• Sharpener Pro - professional sharpening tools
• Define - noise reduction software that takes into account the camera, ISO and exposure

All these tools work with Lightroom, Photoshop, and Photoshop Elements as external editors or filters.   They are available for Windows and Macs.

Nik Color Efex Pro continues to be the tool I go to when I want to selectively apply edits.   The u-point technology in the Nik software makes it easy to select areas of a photo based on luminosity and color without the need to create complex masks.   Silver Efex Pro is my favorite B&W conversion tool.  HDR Efex Pro is the HDR software I use.    I have found the noise reduction in Lightroom to be as good as Deine and don't use that tool as much as I used to.

Should you download the Nik suite of software?   Well, it's certainly worth the purchase price.   I'm not sure it's worth the time it will take to learn the tools.  In my opinion, Google making the tools free is the final step before killing them off.  It has already been some time since the last software update.

What's the alternative?   I also have the On1 software suite that does many of the same things as Nik. I have not learned more than the basics of the On1 tools because I kept going back to the Nik tools I know.  Now I'm going to spend more time with On1 and move off the Nik tools.  

On1 is investing in their development and will continue to improve the tools.  They are running a Spring Special right now and you can get the suite of On1 tools for $79.

Smoky Mountain Wildflower Hike and Photo Outing

We will be taking a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Saturday, April 2 to photograph spring wildflowers.   Our destination is the Porters Creek Trail.  This is an easy - moderate hike of 3 - 4 miles round trip, depending on how far you want to go.  We will find wildflowers, Porters Creek, old buildings, a graveyard, and a waterfall.   This is my favorite wildflower hike in the Smokies.  If we're lucky, these Lady Slippers will be blooming

More info on the hike - http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/porters.htm

We will meet at the Colonial Heights Ingles parking lot next to McDonalds at 7:30 AM on Saturday, April 2. We'll carpool from Ingles.  The drive is 104 miles and will take about 2 hours to get there (Google Map).     Leave your Corvette at home - the Greenbriar Road to the trailhead is dirt and there may be some spring potholes.  Bring a picnic lunch and drinks.  There are a couple picnic areas along the Greenbriar Road and we'll stop for lunch after the hike.

Be sure to bring your camera, a macro lens or a lens that can focus close up, a tripod and shades/diffusers if you have them.

Richard Siggins is your leader for this trip.  You can contact him at r.siggins@charter.net or 423-416-1258.

Eastman Camera Club Events

The temps are up and things are blooming.  Time to get out and take some springtime photos.  The program for the Eastman Camera Club meeting this Thursday evening is:

Photographing Wildflowers

We will have an abbreviated program on macro photography and how to photograph wildflowers. This will be a good preparation for the outing to the Smokies to photograph wildflowers on April 2.

New Studio Lighting Demo

The club purchased a high-quality set of studio lights, stands, and modifiers.   We will demo these and talk about how they can be used.  These will be available for club members to rent.

The meeting will be in the Eastman Employee Center, Room 219 at 6:30 PM on March 17.

We want to hear from you.  Tell us what you want to see for programs and outings.  Give us your feedback and suggestions.   Fill in this very short survey to send us your input.

Eastman Camera Club Meeting Thursday February 25 -

Don't forget the monthly meeting is this Thursday, which is not the normal 3rd Thursday.   

February Camera Club Meeting

Editing Photos

6:30 PM, Thursday, February 25

Room 219, Eastman Employee Center on Wilcox Drive

This was the program we had planned for the January meeting that was canceled due to snow.  I just checked the weather forecast and it looks like we may have snow AGAIN this Thursday.  Please monitor this blog and the club Facebook page for schedule change announcements.

It's not too late to join in on the fun and send in a few edited photos.  Here's the info on this assignment

http://eastmancameraclub.blogspot.com/2015/12/assignment-for-january-21-camera-club.html

Please come ready to discuss how you edited your photos and why you made the choices you did.   A sharing session like this is a great way to learn a lot very quickly.   I will also have the photos and can demonstrate some editing techniques using Lightroom.

Two Great Travelogue Programs Coming Up

If you haven’t made it, we have had two good Travelogues so far.   There are two more

2/18 – Yellowstone in the Winter by Chris Duncan

3/3 – Patagonia by Paul Hassell

Chris Duncan always does a great job presenting at these Travelogues.   He has been to Yellowstone National Park in the Winter multiple times and will be sharing his experiences with us next Thursday night. 

You’ll really want to be there on March 3^rd.  Paul Hassell is a professional photographer from Knoxville.   He founded ALIVE.photo in 2014 (check it out).  He leads photo tours and workshops around the world.   He has been published in National Parks Magazine, Time-Life, Nature's Best, National Wildlife, and National Geographic books.  Here’s an example of Paul speaking.   http://www.lightfinds.us/page/hear/

As with the first two Travelogues, these next two will be at 7:00 PM in the Banquet Room at the Eastman Bays Mountain Lodge.   We have been filling up so come early to get a good seat.   We will make some changes to get more seats in the room.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION---CANON EXPLORER OF LIGHT in Knoxville Area 3/22

SPECIAL PRESENTATION---CANON EXPLORER OF LIGHT--
Knoxville area

What:  Canon Explorer of Light Parish Kohanim,, will be giving a free presentation

When:   Tuesday March 22 at 7pm

Where:  Goins Auditorium at the Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State.
               (About 2 hours from Kingsport)

Who:  Everyone...Public Invited All are welcome to attend.

Parish will take you on a journey, exploring his diverse and striking body of work, composed of his award-winning commercial assignments, stunning painterly-style portraits, landscapes and his fine art imagery.  Parish has been a Canon "Explorer of Light" since l994, when this elite program began.  He has been named "One of the World's Top 100 Photographers" for three consecutive years by Graphis and he is an X-Rite Coloratti Master. For Parish, the heart and soul of his photography is that of an artist and what inspires and motivates his creative process is the focus of what he will share with you during his presentation.

Embracing the trends of our technological advancements and change, Parish will show you his experimental videos that resulted in new assignments. He also will be discussing the importance of proper composition, unconventional lighting, techniques for creating dynamic visual impact, and getting the most naturally posed portraits.  Throughout his presentation, he will point out and share some simple and fresh techniques and tips on how to make your pictures stand out from the crowd.  He will take you behind the scenes of some of his major assignments and discuss his approach and methodology for making any assignment or shot a success.

Parish also shares his philosophy and his passion about the ART of photography.  His presentations are educational, as well as inspirational with a focus on finding the beauty that surrounds us in our own environment and having the vision to expand one's personal horizons.  He will give you unparalleled access, revealing his production methods for his most unique and up-coming book "Luminosa" with Cirque du Soleil's extraordinary performers, which has taken five years to complete.  These one-of-a kind shots are taken at 1/5000 second, hence the "frozen moments" of their spectacular performances.

Recognized internationally for his superb imagery, imaginative lighting and a truly artistic approach that focuses on the beauty that inspires him. Whether you shoot portraits, weddings or landscapes, this is a must-see presentation that will help enhance your creativity and vision.

A reception will be held at 6pm outside the Goins Auditorium in the Rotunda before the presentation.

For more information contact:

Ron Goodrich
Photography Program Coordinator
Pellissippi State Community College
865-539-7171